This specification provides the definition of the Product inquiry message (PROINQ) to be used in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) between trading partners involved in administration, commerce and transport.

The Product inquiry message may be used for both national and international applications. It is based on universal practice related to administration, commerce and transport, and is not dependent on the type of business or industry.

The message usually relates to a manufacturer and/or a supplier of goods and a buyer, or their respective agents.

The buyer may specify in the message the attributes of a product or group of products for which additional information is required. This will allow a manufacturer and/or supplier to send the requester only information for those products the requester is specifically interested in rather than the entire product catalogue.

The Product inquiry message may request information in order to:

select a specific group or family or products from a supplier entire product catalogue, e.g. a buyer requesting a supplier of medical equipment all product information related to sterilized products.

select a product or group of products according to attributes or product characteristics as defined by the sender in the message, e.g. a retailer requesting a clothing manufacturer to send product information for all blue, white or stripped men's shirts, sizes medium to extra-large.

A segment identifying names and addresses of the parties, in coded or clear form, and their functions relevant to the Product inquiry message. Identification of the requesting party and the party asked for information is mandatory for the Product inquiry message. It is recommended that where possible only the coded form of the party ID should be specified e.g. the sender and receiver of the report are known to each other, thus only the coded ID is required, but when a new address might have to be clearly specified, this should be done preferably in structured format.

A segment indicating characteristic values being physical measurements (including measurable quantities and percentages) related to specific product characteristic (e.g. voltage, percentage of material contained) and where relevant measurement ranges. The MEA segment is repeatable to allow the indication of a number of applicable measurable values, for example one electric appliance may be suitable for different voltages: 110V, 220V, 240V and 380V.